Director: Kenneth Lonergan

Genre: Drama

Notable Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Lucas Hedges, Kyle Chandler.

If you enjoy: a well drafted script, realistic movies, dark comedy, discovering the plot as you go through the film, family love, the love of brothers, dysfunctional families, broken/damaged main characters, feeling pity for characters whose pain and struggle makes you feel better about your own life.[1]

If you liked: Forrest Gump, Goodwill Hunting, Extremely Loud Incredibly Close, Shawshank Redemption.  

Notice: THIS IS A SAD MOVIE. The rumors are true, it is depressing! I cannot stress enough how sad this movie is. I’m not saying don’t go watch it,[2] I’m just warning you to go into the movie with the right mentality. If you plan on feeling happy and great after watching this movie, might as well just quit now, don’t even go to the theater. Honestly, just stop reading this post.[3]

Fun Fact: Matt Damon was supposed to play Affleck’s role, but due to scheduling conflicts Affleck ended up getting it.[4]

The first question I get when I tell people how much I loved Manchester by the Sea is usually somewhere along the lines of What movie is that again? to What is Manchester?[5] Then once I mention the word “Oscar’s” or Casey Affleck,[6] the lightbulbs seem to go off in their brains and I immediately get the oh rights and yeah I’ve heard its good.[7] Most people end up recognizing the movie, however, despite the extra publicity, posters, articles, interviews and trailer screenings this acclaimed film has received, without fail, the next question I always get is:

What is it about?[8]

While the film has received a great amount of talk and its name has propagated almost as fast as “Cash me outside,”[9] people still have no idea what the film is about. If you find yourself among these unenlightened folks, fear not, I am here to clear all of your doubts:

Yes, it is sad. Yes, there is a sea.[10] No, it is not a true story.[11] No, it’s not based on a book. Yes, I think Casey is hotter than Ben.[12]

Manchester by the Sea is an indie film  produced by Amazon that tells the story of Lee Chandler, a lonely man who has borne an inhumane amount of loss,[13] the most recent of which is the death of his older brother, Joe Chandler (Kyle Chandler).[14] Due to his unfortunate passing, Lee, who had been living a crappy, dull life in Boston as an apartment janitor, is forced to return Manchester, MA, the small town he grew up in, in order to attend and care for his nephew Patrick (Hedges), who is a troubled 16-year-old boy that hides his emotions with witty humor and constant chatter. As a result of his return, Lee is forced to remember why he left Manchester and to face the terrible memories he associates with his hometown. As the plot unfolds, we slowly begin to uncover as the source of his grief,[15] and from there on out, the film just gets sadder and sadder. [16]

Rather than spend too much time spoiling the plot for you,[17] I want to focus on the more pressing question: Why should I watch this life-sucking movie?

In addition to all the obvious reasons this movie has received great acclaim, such as the acting, directing, and visuals, I would like to argue that the success to this film truly lies in the script. It is brilliant. For starters, while every possible theme in Manchester by the Sea is overdone and the film could have easily been a borderline cliché,[18] sad, and depressing movie, with a main character undergoing self-discovery and recovery from loss, Lonergan manages to use his dialogue and script to create a unique display of human emotion. Not once during the film did I feel like I had seen a story like this before, nor was there that here-we-go-again moment of watching a cliché happily ever after ending. This film was real. It was not idealistic or hopeful, but crude and unpolished. Lonergan didn’t romanticize sadness, nor tried to sugar coat pain with an underlying layer of pity, he just showed it. As it is. Honest and raw. He shows us grief and loss as it truly is: It sucks.

With such a challenging script comes extremely challenging and complex characters, which every actor in this film portrayed perfectly. Each character was relatable, layered, and imperfect, making the film even more realistic and the movie even more poignant. Of course, I cannot write a review on Manchester by the Sea without bringing up Casey’s performance, which was probably the one with the most challenge, the most responsibility, and therefore, the one with the biggest appraise. He nailed this role. His talent for expressing a range of emotions without saying a word, and his ability to portray pure and complete apathy was probably the biggest accomplishment of his performance.

On top of it being so unprecedented in the realm of depressing movies, Manchester by the Sea manages to pull of the rare and extremely hard combination of sadness and humor. This film, believe it or not, has multiple snippet and scenes of just pure humor, which are hilarious and honestly probably the only reason the audience doesn’t fall into depression throughout the film. Both the chemistry of the actors, particularly Affleck and Hedges, and the cleverness in which Lonergan seamlessly incorporates simple lines of comic relief, leave the audience giggling or smiling without knowing it, providing the perfect break to the tension.

To conclude, I must say that Manchester by the Sea is probably the most realistic film I have ever seen. While its unfiltered portrayal of grief made me sad, it also made me feel relieved, since I didn’t feel like the filmmakers were trying to walk around pain in order to make me feel better. This movie was honest, and that is why I recommend it and believe it is deserving of all its praise. However, along the same lines, I will not sugar coat it and tell you you will be fine and happy after watching this film. You probably won’t. But if you’re up for it, you will certainly walk out of there feeling something, and that is all one can hope for when watching a film.

“I can’t beat it. I can’t beat it. I’m sorry.”

[1] Don’t lie, we are all guilty of this.

[2] Actually, I’m kind of pushing for the opposite…

[3] I don’t mean to sound rude, but this post is of no use to you.

[4] Bless that he did.

[5] No, it is not a countryside on the outskirts of Britain, this is a small town in Massachusetts.

[6] May the record be set straight this is indeed Ben Affleck’s brother. Where did he come from? you may ask? Here I have attached his biography/filmography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Affleck curtesy of Wikipedia. If you have better things to do with your time and want the quick rundown, he had small roles in Ocean 11-13, Good Will Hunting, and The Finest Hour.

[7] It’s that movie about British soccer! Nope. Wrong Manchester.

[8] No one has the slightest clue!!

[9] If you still don’t know what this is, here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkmOnEFCyI0

[10] Shocker.

[11] That’s a first.

[12] We can have this argument this later.

[13] Which I will not disclose because this is one of those movies that spoilers can ruin everything for you.

[14] Eyy! they have the same last name, who would have thought?

[15] If you feel depressed already just reading this, get ready because this is just the beginning.

[16] If haven’t gotten it yet, This movie is sad.

[17] I would actually suggest to go in somewhat blind into this movie.

[18] or straight up cliché, let’s be honest.